22-year-old killer of engaged Jersey City couple gets life sentence

The 22-year-old Jersey City man found guilty in the shocking 2010 murders of a couple who had just arrived home from their engagement party was sentenced to life behind bars yesterday, with the judge saying the cold-blooded killer epitomizes the word “depravity.”

Shiquan Bellamy won’t be eligible for parole for 127 years, meaning he will die in prison along with his cousin, Latonia Bellamy, who was sentenced last year to life behind bars in connection to the April 4 killings.

Bellamy, who is charged with three other murders, uttered no expression of remorse for the murders of Michael Muchioki, 27, and Nia Haqq, 25.

The victims’ family offered emotional testimony before pleading with Hudson County Superior Court Judge DePascale to hand down a life sentence.

“I have watched my parents cry with no way to help them,” Amanda Muchioki, Michael Muchioki’s sister, told the judge in the standing-room-only courtroom. “Our family and friends will forever be devastated by their loss.”

Hussain Haqq, Nia’s uncle, noted that Bellamy, even in jail, will still be able to see his family.

“The only way I can see my niece is through pictures — pictures, you know?” said Haqq, his voice cracking. “I don’t get to build more memories of her.”

Bellamy was convicted on Sept. 19, after his second trial. The first trial ended with a hung jury.

The murders came after a failed carjacking by Bellamy, his cousin and Darmelia Lawrence outside the victims’ Randolph Avenue home. Latonia Bellamy was convicted of felony murder and Lawrence pleaded guilty to armed robbery.

In arguing for a life sentence, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael D’Andrea called Bellamy a “vile creature” who diminishes society.

“It does not seem right or fair or just that he gets to walk the face of the earth, that he gets to feel the sun on his face ... while Mike and Nia lie moldering in the ground,” D’Andrea said.